Parallel series centrifugal pump



Feb. 2s, 1938.

c. H. Fox

PARALLEL SERIES CENTRIUGAL PUMP Filed May 9 1934 Patented Feb. 8, 1938 fv 2,107,69r v v y rAmiLLELy SRIES`V CENTRIFUG'L PUMP rvcharlesH..Fox,.cinc'innati,.ohio; assigxmf'ioThe` PMENT omer y Ahrens-Fox FireEngine Company, Cincinnati, 'r' :151.5 Qhiofavcorporation of Ohio s y'invention relates; to i, improvements in pumps; ami-'nasrorits ,objectto provi-ue a pump, adaptedftofbeused in connection' withV fire 'trucks'andvconstructed so' .that water'may'be' taken into tn'pumps fromeitherfsiueofthetruckand discharged fromone side. y Y fltiis'ano'jectoffthis` invention to provide a` pumpme'chanism in wliichthereis' aplurality of pumps mounted on a V,frarrifef in staggeredformation,and'connected to alpowersourcev so that a' singlefpump may .beoperat'ed or all of the pumps operated infc onjuriction'. v if 'It'is'anobject of the invention to provide, in conne/,ation withfatruck framehaving a` vpair of pumpsf'thereon, a Ysource of power and a drivenshaft, means to connect the source of power toeither or both pumps or toconnect the source of power to the driven shaft.

Itis also an object to provide, in connection ywith a truck, a pluralityof pumps, one a primary pump and the other asecondary pump, connected toa source of water supply so that the two pumps may operate in parallelor they may operate in series, the water passing through the secondarypump into the primary pump for discharging purposes.

These and other advantages will appear from the following descriptiontaken in connection Ywith the drawing.

V`Referring to the drawing:r i

Figure 1 is a plan. view of the pump mechanism and a part of the tru-ckstructure to which the pump mechanism is attached, and by which it issupported.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig- Aure 1.

, Aand the pump gearing and the driven shaft con-l Figure 3 is a sectionon the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing connections between the drivingshaft nected with the axle and wheels.

In the present pump structure there are two centrifugal pumps shownsupported transversely of va frame, which constitutes part of a retruck. One of these pumps is a primary pump .I and the other is asecondary pump 2, each having its inllet connected to` an inlet headerk3. ,This inlet header has ports or inlets-4 and 5' for suction Vhose.kIntermediate its ends this Vinlet header has provision, as indicated bythe numeral 6, for

an additional tubular intake. YIntermediate its ends thek intake headeris prokvided. with a take-off 1, which is connected to the intake of theprimary pump by means of a y pipe 8. In the take-off 'I there is aself-seating jacent the inlet to the primary pump movement inthedirection of the inlet to the primary pump |11l IExtending from theinlet header tothel i'nl'et"y ofthe secondary pum'pis a take-off |10.k,The outlet II of the primary pump is connectfe'tl to' oneend'of ariarcuate discharge head- 5 er' I3, wl'iil'eithe'outletllZof thevsecondary pump 2'is' connectedto the other end of the discharge headerby r'rifeaiis' vof atubular connection I4. Q Atjthe'poiiit where'thetubular connectionl I4 connects withthe 'discharge'- header there is a10 sealing vait/e l5; which is'jspring'pressed' and adaptedto' openunderl pressure of the water flowing from; the secondary pump throughthe tubular' connection M', into the discharge header.` Extendingfromtiie tubular' connection' to' 15 the pipe 8 is an arcuate pipe I6,which has therein a valve operated by means of a handle I8. This pipe I6opens into the pipe B ad- The discharge header is provided with aplurality of discharge gates, such as I9, to which hose may be attachedfor discharging water from the header. l

'Ihe pump I is operated by means of a shaft which extends into a.transmission case 2|. The secondary pump 2 is operated by means of ashaft 22 which extends into a clutch casing 23, and by means of a clutchin the casing is adapted to be connected through transmission in thepipe I6 and both pumps are operating, they act in parallel and bothsupply water to the discharge header for discharge through the dischargegates. When the pumps are operating in parallel a large supply of wateris provided without so much pressure. If the secondary pump is notoperating and the primary pump is operating the volume of water and thepressure fall to about one-half the capacity of the two pumps whenoperating in parallel. When the valve I1 isshifted so that the pipe I6is open the two pumps will operate in series, thereby producing agreater pressure with a lesser volume.

When the two pumps are operating in series the water passes from theheader 3, through the take-off l0 into the secondary pump 2, from thesecondary pump, through the pipe I6 into the primary pump, and from theprimary pump 55 into the discharge header. When the pumps are acting inseries the springs, acting against the valves 9 and I5, prevent thewater from passing from the header 3 into the primary pump, and from thetubular connection I4 into the discharge header I3.

On the power shaft 24 is a clutch element 27 adapted to be engaged by aclutch element 29, slidablyV but non-rotatably mounted upon a sleeve 28,which is rotatably mounted on the power shaft and supported by thetransmission case 2i. The clutch element 29 is slidable upon the sleeveby means of a clutch operating lever` 30, suitably pivoted to thetransmission case 2i.

The sleeve 28 carries thereon a gear 3|, which meshes with a gear 32 onthe shaft 2U and a gear 33 mounted upon a shaft 34 adapted to beconnected with the shaft 22 by means of a clutch 35 within the clutchcasing 23. 'I'his clutch is operated by means of a clutch lever 36suitably supported on the clutch casing. For the purpose of connectingthe power shaft 24 to the traction shaft 25 a clutch 31 is provided.

I include by this new arrangement, means to increase the effectivenessof centrifugal pumping mechanism over the wide variations of volume andpressure demanded by re service.

It will be obvious that my invention permits the attachment of the hoseto any one or more of the gates regardless of the manner in which thepumps are being operated so that the hose lines need not be disturbedwhen transitions from parallel to series, or vice versa, are eiected andtherefore I can secure, without detachment of the hose lines, either aparallel arrangement when the demand is for greater volume at lesserpressures, or a series arrangement when the demand is for greaterpressure at lesser volume. The primary pump can be operated at suchtimes only when the demand for volume and pressure falls approximatelywithin one-half of the capacity of both pumps.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my inventionsuch modifications as come within the scope of my claim and myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

In combination in a pumping mechanism, an inlet header, a plurality ofdiverging outlets, a plurality of pumping mechanisms connected theretoand in parallelism with said header, valve means for selectivelyarranging said pumping mechanisms in parallel or in series, a commonoutlet header attached to the outlets of said pumping mechanisms, andv acommon power means for selectively driving from a single source of powerone or both of said pumping mechanisms, said valve means comprising amanually operated valve and automatically closing valves, one interposedbetween one pump and the inlet header and the other pump and the outletheader, said pumps being arranged in such relationship with respect toone another so that the pump shafts are out of axial alignment with oneanother. Y

CHARLES H. FOX.

